Wotanin wowapi 1988-10-20

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'Serving the Fort Peck Reservation"
VOL. 19  N0. 41
OCTOBER 20,1988
Tribal employees, Board wages not subject to garnishment for court ordered debts _____
CAMPAIGN HEADQUARTERS OPENED last week on U.S. Highway 2 In Poplar for state representative candidate Chuck Trinder, who is shown cutting the ribbon officially opening his headquarters. A fund raising rummage sale was held the same day. Trinder, a tribal member, is seeking his first state office. Governor Ted Schwinden will be endorsing Trinder at a noon dinner this Saturday at the WPCO Casino. Trinder has been attending community meetings across the reservation in his election bid.
Frazer community, school plan Red Ribbon Week
FRAZER � The west end community of Frazer has a week of activities planned in recognition of Red Ribbon Week starting Sunday, October 23 to October 28 that includes the school and community members.
Letters were sent to all Frazer ar?a churches, ��afor>g: wilh'fe<f ribbons, asking them to pray about the drug -and alcohol problems and that the Red Ribbon Week's purpose, to make an awareness of drug and alcohol and advocate for a drug free community, will be successful.
Also on Sunday, the Drug and Alcohol Committee, community members and youth will go about Frazer offering red ribbons to display on their cars, fence, tree or wherever, to show support for a drug free community. The committee is made up of Drug and Alcohol school counselor Joyce Stevenson, who is also a parent and a community member; Joanne Sauter, school counselor; Judy White and Mary Sue Jackson, who are both teacher aides, parents and community members; and Kris Taylor, a sixth grade teacher.
Red Ribbon Rally Day involves the school and community on Monday, October 24. An assembly in the school gym, to begin at 2:40 to 3:24, includes two guest speakers - court administrator Leighton Reum and Frazer eighth grader Harold Firemoon - who will both speak on drug and alcohol awareness.
Grades kindergarten through sixth will sing "Users Are Losers" and will have Gruff, the crime dog. After the program about 300 balloons will be let free in the
^�R\on'Aay night, the closed A.A., Al-Anon and Ala-Teen meeting will be made open to all interested community members.
On Tuesday, Spotted Bull Treatment Center counselor Eloise Garfield will put on a. presentation for grades kindergarten to fourth utilizing puppets. The presentation is entitled Babes
and is on alcohol and drug awareness. There will also be numerous speakers doing classroom presentations.
For the community Tuesday night, there will be a Community Awareness Night at the Frazer Community Hall to start at 6:30 p.m: J he agenda includes presentations by SBTC, the BIA Police Department and Frazer community members.
Wednesday is Wear Red Day at the school and Teachers Day, in which the Drug and Alcohol Committee will be putting on presentations for teachers and teacher aides. Red Ribbon cake or cookies and coffee will be served and a film on drug and alcohol awareness will be shown.
Kids Red Ribbon Film Festival will be held Wednesday evening at 6:30 p.m. at the Frazer Community Hall. Stevenson said a couple of films will be shown on awareness of drug and alcohol. The high school student council will sellpopand popcorn.
POPLAR-The wages of tribally paid employees and the Tribal Executive Board cannot be garnished by court order to satisfy their debts because of the Tribes sovereign immunity from suit, according to a memo from the tribal attorneys on October 14, 1988.
The Tribes will not garnish any wages except by tribal court order. According to the Tribes in-house counsel Robert McAnally, like most laws, it runs smoothly until objections are raised and legality is questioned. This happen all the time in other court systems, he said, sometimes laws go until something surfaces, like this.
McAnally said the garnishment issue surfaced when the tribal attorneys questioned it after the Tribes secretary-accountant was arrested last Thursday over the
Sarnishment of a Tribal Executive oard member's wages. Due to the arrest, the chairman's assistant called the attorneys, who then issued the October 14 memo clarifying the issue.
According to the attorneys memo, "The TRIBAL Court has no garnished jurisdiction over the wages of employees on the tribal payroll direct, or of members of the Executive Board."
The Reservation Safety Committee met on the issue on Tuesday and after much discussion decided to have a legal forum on Tuesday, Nov. 15 at 1 p.m. at the Poplar Activity Center. The committee also directed McAnally to draft a letter to all attorneys who are licensed to practice in the tribal court, asking
them to submit their opinions on the issue.
In garnishment, a creditor may file a complaint to satisfy a debt and in such action, the defendent and the defendent's employee are named in the suit. "The point to remember is that a proceeding in garnishment is a lawsuit against the garnishee," which is the employer, the memo states.
Since the Tribes have not waived their immunity from suit in garnishment and have not consented to be sued, the wages of a tribal employee or a member of the Executive Board cannot be garnished by court order. The section in the Tribes code on garnishment, as presently written, does not extend to tribal employees or members of the board. If the Tribes want the wages of tribal employees or board members to be subject to garnishment, the code must be amended to so provide. For example, the code could be amended to authorize garnishment of wages for failure to pay rent to the Housing Authority, or for child support, or alimony, or for any judgment deft, the attorneys state.
Persons who work for any tribal corporation are not employees of the Tribes, but are employees of the corporation. The corporations are subject to suit and therefore the wages of their employees are subject to garnishment under the Tribes code, according to the attorneys.
The U.S. Government has waived immunity with respect to garnishment of a federal employee's   wages   to   enforce
collection of child support or alimony.
According to the Tribes Payroll Department, there are 16 court ordered garnishments on tribal employees and two coun-cilmemoers to satisry aeots to tne Housing Authority, local businesses and for child support.
A memo to the Payroll Department, dated Nov. 14 1987 from then tribal chairman Ken Ryan, limits payroll duductions the Tribes will do to BIA Credit, Housing, IRS levies, employees in debt to the Ft. Peck Tribes, and all court ordered garnishments.
Payroll supervisor Jackie Perry said the department is opposed to voluntary payroll deductions because that is like paying the personal bills of employees and board members and could get out of hand.
Councilman Ray Eder said the Tribes should be like the federal government and terminate employees who do not pay their bills.
Councilman Levi Olson said he didn't think the Tribes can waive
their immunity from suit in garnishments and that it would probably require a referendum to do this.
Special tribal prosecutor Ron Arneson said the Tribes should consider waiving their immunity only in areas where an employee's wages can be garnished to collect on a tribal court judgement, which is a due right.
Councilman  Norman  Hollow said this issue has to be approached with a great deal of caution, through a series of
meetings, including public comment.
"I believe in sovereign immunity from suit as far as the Tribes, Tribal Executive Board and employees are concerned in relation to official conduct in business," said Hollow. Anything outside of that, such as contractual agreements for payment, if tailed to meet, he teels employees and board members shouldn't "hide under sovereign immunity."
Councilman Merle Lucas, who suggested the legal forum, agreed andsaid the Tribes have to look at the tribal employees and board members who are not paying Housing, Credit and such.
Councilman Gene Culbertson said the present court orders may be in direct violation of the employees' and board members' civil rights.
McAnally said for the Tribes to hold off on court orders would be an interference with the court.
Lay Counselor Clayton Reum disagreed, saying that the Tribal Executive Board already opened the door and set precedent in the Tribal Appeals Court v. Red Fox in which the board overruled the court's decision. With that action, the board stated they were higher than the Appeals Court, so they have the authority to hold up court orders, he said.
Reservation Safety chairman Arlyn Headdress agreed with this interpretation.
The present court ordered garnishments being processed by Tribal Payroll will continue as is.
Revised Fish and Game Code approved by Tribes
POPLAR � The Tribal Executive Board ^poroved o( a revised Fi.'.'h and Game Code in a closed meeting on Friday, Sept. 23, however it will not be made public or be posted until Tuesday, October 25.
Tribal Executive Board member Ken Smoker Jr., who began the effort to revise the Tribes fish and game program until a commission was selected, declined to reveal any major changes in the code, stating that would have to come from the 6-member commission on Oct. 25.
Larry Hamilton was selected as the new Fish and Game Warden for the Tribes and will begin his duties on Thursday, October 27, according to Smoker. The com-
mission, made up of community selected members from crch community, narrowed down their selection from 24 applicants before a final four were interviewed, and based their decision on experience, he said. The Tribes are advertising tor a second warden, with selection,to be made before the month.
The Tribes, through Smoker, began reviving the fish and game area over a year and a half ago when they were mandated by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, through a Billings Area Office directive, to put a fish and game program in lace or they wouldn't be eligible or future funding and could be faced with the possibility of the BIA setting hunting and fishing
regulations tor them. "It was in 'ho Tribes best interest to do it themselves," said Smoker.
In the past, the Tribes fish and game program was not handled adequately because it was put under the Reservation Safety Committee, who had a lot of other things to deal with and hunting and fishing was not a priority, said Smoker, but now it is.
The Tribes went on record last year to have a Fish and Game Commission to administer the program and this was taken to communities, where selections were made at meetings: In December of last year the commission was filled and now consists of Wendell Martell, Ft. Kipp;   Chuck   Spotted   Bird,
Brockton;   Ronnie  Grainger,
Poplar;J Earner Adams, Wolf Point; Tom Martin, Oswego; and Donald Clark, Frazer. The commissioners are all hunters and fishermen and know the violations out there, said Smoker.
The commission reviewed the Tribes Fish and Game Code, made some changes and presented it to two public hearings, one in Poplar and one in Wolf Point.
The Fish and Game Commission operates under a charter and by-laws that stipulates the commission can set up rules and regulations in regard to hunting and fishing on the reservation.
(Page 2-Commfssion)
Sst-'f1" Tribal members selected for forestry work
rrazer community speaking to �
classes. At 5:30 a Red Ribbon Fun Walk for the community and school will go about the community singing and walking.
Friday, Poster/Banner Day will close out the week. Entrants in a Red Ribbon Poster/Essay Contest will be featured in the school
fym. The. Frazer-Nashua girls asketball game that night will be dedicated.to Red Ribbon Week. Winners in the contest will be given recognition at half time.
SBTC will sponsor a Red Ribbon Dance in the school cafeteria after the ballgame from 10 p.m. to 12 midnight Tor all sixth to twelfth grade students.
Frazer school will also have bumper stickers and buttons for sale and red ribbons for the public when they come to the school to take in the week's activities.
Tribes, Poplar declare Red Ribbon Week
POPLAR-The Fort Peck Tribes and the Poplar City Council proclaimed Red Ribbon Week October 23 to 30.
Starting Oct. 23, there will be a Red Ribbon display in the Trader's State Bank showcase.
On Oct. 24 at 4:30 p.m. there will be an assembly at the Poplar Culture Center for "Kids and Chemicals" that will include a speaker, refreshments and a movie.
Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. the Poplar Elementary children will surround the school as a symbol of keeping out drugs. The Head-start children will also be involved. They are asking the parents and community members to participate as this day   is
proclaimed, nationwide, Red Ribbon Day. They are asking the people to wear red that day.
Thursday night there will be a drug free dance at the Poplar Culture Center, sponsored by the Spotted Bull Treatment Center.
Friday, the elementary students will parade and have a rally In downtown Poplar. The high school and middle school bands will accompany them.
Special note - the local bars will close from 10:30 a.m. to 12 noon that day.
Also in the scheduled events, the local Poplar merchants will sponsor a Red Ribbon Day Sale. You can get a discount if you are
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POPLAR � Through the rehabilitation efforts, by tne Montana Forestry and the Fort Peck TERO, 11 local former fire fighters were dispatched to plant trees in the Gallatin National Forest.
Although TERO had originally solicited for 50 applications, of which an anticipated number of 25 would have been employed, it wasn't until all of the first 50 applications and an additional 18, which were to be used for alternates if need be, that TERO learned that the number had depleted to 10 perspective tree planters.
However, through the combined efforts of TERO and the tribal council in prompting officials, TERO was able to secure 11 positions.
As fate would have it, a mop up crew from Browning was to have been demobilized but was given the opportunity to plant trees by an official through another district, not knowing that a crew had been assembling in Poplar preparing to fill those positions. The crew from Browning was utilized, thus resulting in the drastic depletion in the number of tree planters being dispatched through TERO. At one point, there was doubt as to whether TERO would send any people at all.
Through further communication with tribal, forest and state officials, TERO arranged for Marge Irvine, Native American Program Manager, Greg Anderson, Fire Management Officer, and Sherm Sollid, geologist, all of the Gallatin National Forest, to conduct interviews at the Poplar Cultural Center on Thursday, October 13 at 10:00 am.
A major part of the selection was determined by the applicants former fire fighting history, knowledge of tree planting techniques and chainsaw ability. The selection was done in full by
the Forest Service Officials, who were impressed with the number of qualified applicants.
Of the 11 applicants selected, Alfred Lizotte was named Laison Officer, with Doug Runsthrough and Russell White as crew boss; the other 8 selected to work anywhere from 10 to 50 days and are based in Gardner.
It is not yet known if the Forest Service will be recruiting further crews out of the Fort Peck Reservation, but TERO remains optimistic and feels they have an excellent bunch to represent them.
Forest Service personnel Greg Anderson and Margie Irvine
WORKING FOR THE FOREST SERVICE-L-R Leonard Bear jr., Robert McClammy, Doug Runs Through, Kim black Eagle, Simon
Follette, Donna Lindsay, Fred Youpee of TERO, Robert Pinker-Lizotte, Russell White, Greg An- ton, Sherm Sollig, and Joe derson, Margie Irvine,  Curley  Howard.